A Blackwaterfoot farmer who wants to diversify by having a static caravan site on his land has been denied his wish.
Mr J Murchie proposed to site 12 caravans within a woodland plantation at Bailemargaidh, Blackwaterfoot, but at Tuesday’s North Ayrshire Council’s planning committee members refused his application for change of use of agricultural land to a static caravan park.
Mr Murchie stated that access would be via an existing public road leading from the main island circular road to the south of Blackwaterfoot. He also proposed to widen the junction with the main road and provide five passing places within the verge of the single-track road or on third party land. An existing field access track within the farmland would be upgraded and a new length of road formed within the site itself.
The site offered westerly views across Drumadoon Bay and across the Kilbrannan Sound towards Kintyre.
Mr Murchie stated that his original application in 2005 had been for 19 static caravans. However, he had reduced the number to 12 in the current one.
He said the caravans were not visible from a distance; improvements to the junction of the public road would be at his own cost and would be of benefit to current road users as well as the development traffic; the proposal was consistent with the government’s stated policy of encouraging farm diversification.
